Travel Buddies
by SweetAle4u
Summary: Sheldon has finally created his own time machine with a bit of a twist. Penny comes along for the ride. Tribute to Quantum Leap, Doctor Who, Chuck and all those other lovely sci-fi shows we all love.
1. Chapter 1

**For the fans of my other stories, I have not forgotten you, I am just a bit blocked, I had this idea knocking around my head as I am big Doctor Who and Quantum Leap fan, I thought it might be nice to take these kids on a nice adventure, get them out of the damn cheesecake factory and that damn apartment! To my funky faithful…**

****I do not own any of the shows; I am just a dedicated, loyal fan who is not making any money! :D** Please enjoy, review only if you have something positive to say, no pettiness. Enjoy it for what it is, a guilty pleasure we all have. :D**

Space and Time…Cooper Style

Chapter 1

Penny stomped up the stairs; she hated this damn building and its stupid broken elevator. She hated that she had been here so long and still had no acting prospects, her career was literally in the shitter (_hemorrhoid commercials were not classy_) and now to top it all off she had gotten fired from her job at the Cheesecake Factory. If this was not a sign that changes needed to be made she didn't know what was.

Her boss had fired her because he could not keep "letting her show preferential treatment to her burger buddy". That was his excuse, but Penny knew it was because she filed a complaint with HR for cameras he had installed in the employees break and changing rooms. Well she would show him, she knew Howard had some attorneys for family and she was definitely going to take advantage of that.

As she reached the landing she heard some arguing from Sheldon and Leonard's apartment.

"It won't work Sheldon, you're insane!" Leonard was yelling

"I am not insane..."

"Yeah we all know dude your mother had you tested" Raj cut him off before he could deliver the line we have all known him to regurgitate every time he was called crazy or a loon.

"All we need to do it test it…my calculations will work." Sheldon said again, His voice was calm compared to those of the others.

Penny was curious to know what it was they were arguing about but really could not be bothered, she needed a shower and maybe a yummy wine cooler and a rom com to take her mind off of things, or maybe a nice sexy thriller. Get your mind out of the gutter Penny! She scolded herself.

She had not put in the key when three of the finest minds in Pasadena and Howard were staring at her.

"Penny, would you acquiesce to assisting me in a brief experiment?" Sheldon asked, well she thought he did.

"Sheldon honey, I am beat and I need a long hot shower…"

With this Howard's ear peaked up and he began to mumble in a foreign language, Penny scowled and Raj giggled, making her soften her gaze.

"It will not take long, we can wait until you are finished with your ablutions"

"Okay sweeties, give me 10 minutes."

He tilted his head and smirked as to say 'who are you kidding woman, more like 45 minutes'. Leave it to her to try and fool a world class mind like Sheldon Cooper. "Okay, give me an hour."

She found it harder and harder to say no to Sheldon, he had become such an important part of her life, she doesn't even know how or when it happened, it just did.

She remembers all their talks, their fights and everything he has done for her like it was her that had the eidetic memory. When he talks about his life growing up, it breaks her heart because she knows he had it tough and she did too. They would have been a good pair in high school; she would've looked out for him. Too bad his sister didn't do it, and his brother was too busy to waste time on his geeky brother that no one understood.

She took her time showering and even ate something before heading over to his apartment. She knocked and went in, since she was used to doing it, it had become habit, why he still knocked on her door baffled her.

The guys were waiting but it seemed that we needed to go out for what they wanted to show me. "Get your coat Penny" Sheldon ordered.

"Where are we going guys?"

"Down to the lab, we have an experiment we need to run and we need you to assist us." Sheldon answered his voice calm and stern. He often spoke to her softly, giving her the impression that he thought that if he did she would listen better. He was right. Although she did like arrogant Sheldon, she could not stand whiny men. That is why it had not worked with Leonard. He was broken and needed help. The beta test had failed miserably. He had even proposed to her as they had sex one night, it was too much for her. She told him she could not marry him because she wasn't in love with him and she didn't think she would ever be. He took it a bit tough but he realized that he wasn't in love with her either. She had made him promise to get some therapy; he agreed and now was dating the daughter of his therapist. She often wondered if she wasn't that significant that the men that she dated got over her so quickly. Even Leonard who was a couple of weeks ago proposing marriage to her was now dating someone new. She shook off the last of those thoughts as they arrived at CalTech.

She had only been here a few times, never by choice. She didn't do well at school, although she did see the benefit of the work that they guys were doing, she just did not think she would be able to keep her hands off all those hot professors long enough to learn anything. Bad Penny!

Instead of heading to the building where she knew the boys' offices were, they headed over to single building in the read that looked like it had been closed off for construction.

"We saw the need to employ a perception filter" Sheldon said, softly laughing as he pulled back the yellow caution tape.

"Huh?" she asked. She didn't get the reference.

"TARDIS…Doctor Who" was all she heard Leonard mumble, she had taken to blocking him out a bit. He had really disappointed her.

"Whatever...so what are we doing here?"

"Good question Penelope…I have designed a time machine, but not just a time machine, a time and place machine"

"Huh?" she was even more confused.

"While I understand Penny that the education system in Nebraska may have been lacking but I am sure you learned how to articulate a correct inquiry, did you not?" Sheldon asked his voice stern again. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as the sound of his voice.

"Listen Moonpie, I am asking because I do not see how you figured that out as you told me that you could only move through time with a time machine and not through space."

"Excellent observations Penny…As you know I am a big fan of the television program Doctor Who and on that show he and his lovely companions travel in a TARDIS, or the blue police box you know it to look like, this machine is based on alien technology. My time machine is based on my theories of time and space."

As he finished his sentence they arrived at the downstairs lab of Doctor Talk-too-Much and saw that he had two large cylindrical pods in the center of the room, similar to that one in the movie the Fly, it immediately creeped Penny out.

"While in the program, the TARDIS moves itself, my machine, the person's aura or essence will move through time and space, however the space has been contained to this known universe as all the coordinates on earth have been programmed, thanks to Howard and his NASA contacts"

Howard nodded his head and bowed a bit, Penny smiled; he could be so goofy.

"Why are there two pods?" Penny asked.

"One person will be traveling; the other will be tethered to them as a sort of spirit companion if you believe in that hokum. That way they are not alone. The catch is you need to inhabit the body of another person when you arrive at a designated time and place. This will happen randomly, I do not know yet how the person will be chosen or if it is because of proximity or connection to the person traveling. That is why there needs to be a companion to record the data findings."

"Sheldon, while this is fantastic, why the frak am I down here?"

"Well Penny, since you recently found yourself without employment…"

"How did you know…"

"Penny…Penny…Penny…You seriously underestimate me. As today is anything can happen Thursday, we were going to dine at your restaurant and when we called to reserve our table we were told that you were unceremoniously dismissed. Your friend Rhesa filled us in and she said you would need a lawyer. Both Raj and Howard have already called their cousins and they have begun the paperwork to file a grievance on your behalf. Since I am the main reason you were dismissed, I will incur any legal fees that may arise."

He said all this with an air of superiority, but Penny knew better, she knew this was his way and that deep down he was just like Wall-E.

"That still doesn't answer why I am here Sheldon…cough it up already"

"_Penny…how would you like to go on a trip?"_

A few minutes later, after much coaxing and a promise of a few favors, penny was getting strapped into this machine. Sheldon stood in the small pod with her and gently placed the sensors on the sides of her head, as he did, he brushed the curls that fell to her face behind her ears, she looked at him, she looked at him almost scared, and she caught her breath a bit. "Penny, relax, we need to take a heart rate soon and if you do not breathe or relax, you will not allow for a good baseline."

"I'm scared Sheldon, what if something happens?"

Sheldon saw the worry in her eyes, he was standing very close to her, their chests almost touching, he could feeling her rapid breathing against him. He was suddenly aware of how green her eyes were. "There, there, Sheldon is here" he patted her shoulders, his hands staying on a bit longer as his index finger grazed her neck. She calmed down a bit; the flush in her cheeks however was undeniable as he coughed a bit and looked away. She did too.

"Hey Sheldon, place the heart monitor so I can get a baseline, I have her alpha waves on the screen, we need EKG readings and BP readings." Howard shouted beyond the door of the steel pod. Sheldon put his arms around Penny's back pulling the strap across the front of her chest making sure the strap could take the readings it needed, his fingers felt the beating of her heart beneath them. His gulp was almost audible.

"Sheldon…"

"Yes Penny" He didn't realize he was still staring at where his fingers had just been.

"I need to tell you something…"

"_Sheldon come on man, we need to get this online, we are burning daylight,….I need you in the other pod_." Raj called out.

With that he took one more look at her, he did something very unlike himself, he reached up and softly kissed her forehead. "Trust me Penny…I'm a Doctor."


	2. Chapter 2 The Galveston Materialization

**Chapter Two: The Galveston Materialization **

"Penny can you hear me in there?" Raj's voice broke through the pod.

"Yeah Raj, I can hear you."

"Pen, I need you to calm down, your numbers are all over the place, just calm down" She heard Howard call to her.

"Okay…sorry I'm just freaking out a bit" she answered, still uncertain and starting to hyperventilate.

"Penny, I need you to close your eyes and take a deep breath" Sheldon's voice came over the ear piece he had secretly placed in her ear.

"Sheldon, how can I hear you?"

"Penny, Penny, Penny, everything is better with Bluetooth. Now I need you to calm down, our heart rates and our alpha waves need to be as evenly matched as possible since we will move together through time as one."

She took a deep breath, "Just listen to my voice Penelope" he spoke softly again, almost breathy, as if right into her ear.

"That's better Penny…strange thing you two almost have the same physical reactions to each other's voices" Howard laughed.

"Penny it will feel like the ground is pulled out from under you…you must remember that whatever happens, I am tethered to you…I am connected to you, wherever you go I will go.."

"Sheldon…I need to tell you something…"

"Penny let me finish…you will not be alone, I am with you at all times, even if you cannot see me."

"I'm scared..."

"Penny…do you trust me?"

"With my life Sheldon…"

The wind came up so fast around her, the pod was shaking. She thought she heard Leonard and Raj shouting…_was there something wrong_?

She hit the ground hard. She tried to stand but found it hard to find her bearings. "Sheldon!"

"Sheldon where are you?"

"Where are we?"

There was no answer. She stood up and looked around. She was in at a farm. She had grown up on one and knew one when she saw one. There was a stack of wood nearby, almost as if someone had been chopping it. A shirt lay on the ground. The axe by her foot let her know, she was most likely the one that had been chopping wood.

"_Sheldon?" _ she called out.

"George Jr stop yelling. You know Shelly is down by the comic book store!" Mary Cooper was calling to her.

What? _What the hell is going on_? Sheldon what have you gotten me into. Penny walked over to the side of the house and saw her reflection in the window, she could see herself, but the air around her was distorted. She reached up and touched her face and felt nothing different.

"Junior, you go down there and see why it's taken your brother so long to come back" Mary Cooper slapped at her arm.

"Ms. Cooper….I-I"

"Why ya callin' me Miss Cooper son you okay? Too much sun huh? Drink some water before you go"

"What day is it mom?" Penny/George asked?

"Why its Wednesday…You sure you okay son?"

"What year is it mom?"

"Good Lord George, I think you might have the heatstroke, its 1992"

Penny's mouth gaped open. _"1992?"_

"Ah honey, you alright? You sure you gonna be alright to go look for Shelly bean?"

"Sure mom!" Penny grabbed the flannel shirt lying on the ground near the axe and jumped into the pick up and took off towards town.

Penny took the road right outside the farm, it only headed one way and if Penny remembered anything about growing up in these small towns, the road usually led to town.

She wondered if 1992 Sheldon would know what was going on, she was sure he would believe her if she told him. If she couldn't find "her" Sheldon, she was sure the younger version would have an idea how to help her. She did the math in her head and figured 1992 Sheldon was probably about 12 years old, give or take a few months.

Penny touched her ear feeling around for the ear piece but there wasn't anything there.

"Dammit Sheldon…what have you gotten me into? And where are you?"

"I'm right here Penny" his voice spoke to her and to her right in the seat next to her materialized Sheldon.

"Damn Sheldon…this is quite a Bazinga!"

She laughed out loud as the truck sped down the road. "You did it Sheldon, its 1992! We are in 1992!"

"Yes Penny, I see we are no longer in the pods, but I do not yet know where we are. Although this does look familiar"

"Well, have I got a _Bazinga_ for you Moonpie!"


	3. Chapter 3 Texas Toast

Chapter 3 Texas Toast

Penny managed to pull over the pickup truck and Sheldon piled out. He began pacing the dirt road his hands nervously raking his hair.

"How could this be, of all the places we could have come white here!"

"Maybe it has to do with something we were thinking about?" Penny asked.

_"But 1992?"_

"Yeah, what's wrong with 1992? It was a good year; I remember spending most of it in detention, but overall it was a good year."

"Okay, well we have to get out of here, the sooner the better. Did you figure out who you're supposed to be?" Sheldon asked Penny.

"Or you're going to love this moon pie, why don't you take a closer look at the pickup and at me and tell me what you see."

Sheldon looked around at the pickup it didn't take him long to figure out it was his brothers pick up a look back at Penny the air around her a little bit distorted, but he can almost make out his brother George.

Her Sheldon actually flinched backwards, almost falling onto his ass, "Oh good Lord!" That was the last thing Sheldon said before he fainted. Since Sheldon really wasn't there, Penny knew it she got back in the pickup he'd wind up in there soon enough he was tethered to her so she wouldn't have to do the work of picking him up and putting them in the pickup, he would just kind of float back into the pickup the further she got away. She decided to do this and took off down the road to find little Sheldon. There was something about this year – struck a chord in her memory she just couldn't figure it out.

As she drove further away from her Sheldon, she saw him appearing next to her in the passenger seat still kind of out of it. The road curved as she drove closer to town off to the left she saw there was a ravine there was some bikes strewn about at the entrance and some kids holding something in their hand just out of the reach of another child. Penny didn't need to get any closer to know that that was little Sheldon, the puce colored pants and the flash T-shirt gave him. The boys teasing him were very large, much bigger than little Sheldon, at least in wideness. She pulled the pickup truck over and made her way to where they were. As she got out of the pickup her Sheldon came to and began to babble something about timelines or some other nonsense like that. All Penny knew is that those boys were about to get a little bit of Nebraska by way of Texas.

"Penny, stop!" Sheldon called after her.

"No Sheldon I won't stop don't you see what I see? That's you getting bullied. Isn't this what your brother is supposed to do for you? Instead of bullying you himself?" Penny asked, surprised by Sheldon's reaction.

"Yes Penny I know but still, what if this changes something?"

"I guess it didn't change much if were still here, I'm going over there to help "little" you."

Penny/George stomped over to where the three bullies were taunting and teasing poor Shelly and shouted, she grabbed one by the collar of his shirt and the other shouted for Penny/George to put down his friend. The bigger of the three guys ripped the comic books in half and pushed "little" Sheldon down into the ravine. Penny/George dropped the kids and ran towards "little" Sheldon once she heard the crack, she knew that his arm was probably broken, but if she didn't hurry, he was going to slip down that ravine and crack his skull open.

"Hold on Moonpie, I got ya"

Penny could hear the muffled cries coming from "little" Sheldon "Please hurry George, I'm slipping"

Penny reached down and grabbed him, without much effort she was able to lift him up and onto solid ground.

All this while, "her" Sheldon was just off watching, pacing. She looked over now and saw him with his hand covering his mouth. He was stunned still. He slowly walked over to view the scene.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Penny asked, temporarily forgetting that she was supposed to be Sheldon's mean older brother.

"Don't c-c-call me that, w-w-what is wrong with you George" Little Sheldon asked.

"Don't you mind me Shelly, let's get you to the hospital"

"George, you didn't answer my question, what is wrong with you, you don't look okay, there seems to be an anomaly in your appearance." Little Sheldon said even as he cradled his broken arm, his tears all but gone.

"Penny, you must not tell him." Her Sheldon spoke to her. His voice was somewhat calm, even in the face of himself.

She turned to speak to her Sheldon, Little Sheldon made his way over to pick up the two identical copies of the newest Flash comic book, shaking his head at the damage done, a few new tears escaping his eyes.

"We need to get him to the hospital and I cannot lie to you"

"Penny, it will not make a difference to us now, by you changing this, you have most likely created a new time line, so this Sheldon is not me."

"You mean like in Back to the Future when Biff steals the Delorean and goes back to give his younger self the sports almanac causing Marty to return to a 1985 he didn't recognize and his mom had those nasty fake boobs?"

Her Sheldon opened his eyes as wide as she had ever seen them, "Yes, even as rudimentary as you explained it, yes. And yes those breasts were horrid. I much preferred a natural looking Lorraine."

"Excuse me but if you are done talking to yourself, whoever you are, I am ready to go to the hospital, I am sure that I will need a CAT scan and a routine battery of tests."

"Damn your Vulcan hearing!" Penny mumbled to her Sheldon.

Penny walked him over to the pickup, as she opened the passenger side door, she threw little Sheldon's bike into the back. She turned to get in but was faced with little Sheldon's gaze. His eyes were just as blue as they are now, well in her time.

"Who are you?" he asked her again. His face wincing in pain as he stood resolute, waiting for an answer, her Sheldon was standing behind him a few feet off, giving the strangest image, almost like father and son.

She walked over, still in the guise of his brother, but when she opened her mouth, she gave herself away.

Placing her hands on his shoulders softly, she began to speak. "Sheldon sweetie, my name is not important, what is important is that I am here because of that big, beautiful mind of yours. I know you are the only one that will believe what I am going to tell you."

Little Sheldon actually gulped, he shifted his gaze a bit, feeling the intensity of this person made him a bit nervous as to what would come next.

"Sweetie, I am from the future, I am part of an experiment. A time/space travel experiment."

"Go on" little Sheldon answered her, no doubt in his voice, no throwing up his arm to call her crazy.

"Well, I got a call that I was needed to help, to sort of 'test drive' the device" she continued.

"So, do you have a guide with you? One that is tethered to you?" little Sheldon asked.

"Well, yes, how did…" she began to ask but who was she kidding this was Sheldon, a few years younger, a lot less crazy, but still it was her Sheldon in mini-form.

"I am sure that I would have included such a provision as to assure that the person traveling had a life line of sorts to their space and time. I am sure no one would like to go tracing about in time all on their own, allowed just to do anything they want, it could lead to a disruption in the space-time continuum and fixed points in time could be altered, which could lead to alternate time lines…"

Before he could go on, it dawned on him that her saving him might have done just that. His eyes widened.

"_What have you done?"_ little Sheldon asked, fully taking in the significance of her good deed.

"Well sweetie, I did the right thing, now get your ass in the car and stop asking so many questions!"

He obeyed, very much like her Sheldon, he seemed petrified of her. As they drove to the hospital little Sheldon looked out the window while her Sheldon sat between them staring at the younger version of himself.

"Fascinating." Her Sheldon said, under his breath.

"What is, sweetie?"

"Excuse me but I did not say anything" little Sheldon spoke. Then it hit him, like a brick.

"Stop the truck!" little Sheldon yelled. She hit the brakes out of sheer panic at hearing him raise his voice, his accent thick with Texas, his voice had started to change but it still cracked a bit, she hid a small smile.

"Jeez sweetie, you scared the hell out of me!"

"I want to talk to him" little Sheldon asked.

"To who?" Penny asked, playing the stupid card.

"I know you are talking to your guide, and I know its….me"

"Why would you say that?"

"Please woman I have an IQ of 187 I have a very good working knowledge of all the universe, but apart from that I can put 2 and 2 together and you are using the same tone of voice to speak to me as you are this invisible guide, and you called him _sweetie_ as well"

"I call everyone Sweetie, it means nothing, and how did you know I was a woman?"

"I didn't but you just confirmed it, and don't you think it's a bit _trampy _to be calling everyone sweetie?"

Just then she noticed the corners of her Sheldon's lips curl into a smirk, he loved this! Little Sheldon was a bit of a smart ass too! He seemed almost proud that his younger self had figured it out.

"Fine, you want to talk to yourself, knock yourself out, and try doing it without me here to serve as the mouth piece"

"Of course it can be done, since signals have not gone digital yet, there are also AM stations that transmit white noise I can in essence communicate via the radio waves. Set the station to an AM station with static"

Penny did as she was told and waited. It was surreal to see her Sheldon talking and his voice coming out of the speakers of the pickup.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, I am Sheldon Lee Cooper of the year 2012, it is very nice to see you"

Little Sheldon's jaw almost hit the ground, for all the cockiness he demonstrated a few minutes ago calling her out on her deception, he was almost shocked to be proven correct.

"I am Sheldon Lee Cooper, of the year 1992; it is good to speak to you as well."

"Listen Sheldon, there is nothing more I can tell you, I am telling you enough by just allowing myself to know this in this time line, I do not know what ramifications this may have, although you were not incorrect to assume that an alternate time line has been created where in essence you are no longer the younger version of me, but in fact the younger version of another Sheldon, in another time line."

"Fascinating!" little Sheldon seemed truly engaged in his future self's soliloquy.

"All this because this infernal woman does not listen to me." Her Sheldon spoke.

As she drove further down towards the hospital, her Sheldon spoke a little more to his younger version, diverting questions that were asked, little Sheldon was a very curious mind.

As they arrived at the hospital, Penny exited and walked around to open the passenger door and let the injured boy out, as she did this, he stopped and looked at her, really look at her.

Trying not to let her Sheldon see her, she placed a shiny Penny she had found in the truck into Sheldon's palm, placed a quick kiss on his forehead and whispered in his ear, "_You were always the guy, don't forget me…"_

And with that they were no longer in Texas….


	4. Chapter 4 Teenage Dream

_***I do not own any of the characters; I am just borrowing them for fun. ** I hope you are all enjoying my little story, or drivel as I call it. I do not know if any of you will catch the hidden Easter egg in this Chapter, I know I released one in the last chapter and no one mentioned it, this one might be a bit more obvious. Big shout out to my girl Buffy Summers, I gave Penny the surname of Summers because I find it surreal that after all these years the writers on that show have such little respect for women of Penny's social class that they will not even grace her with a property identity. Notice how the other two women who are PhD's do have last names. Penny, who is of a decidedly lower social class, does not. I just had to voice that as it annoys me! Well to my Funky faithful readers, here is another chapter in the adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle…no sorry I mean…well you know…If you like review and show some love. Suggest an era you would like to see them go to. Also, spoiler for future chapters, Sheldon will be getting solid real soon, enough of this spirit/hologram nonsense, how else are they gonna play? ** **_

Chapter 4 Teenage Dreams

She was in her room. Of course it was in her room in 4B, it was her room in Nebraska.

She looked around the posters on the wall, and her memories started flooding back. It's amazing how much you forget in such a short time. She looked at herself in the mirror and made out to the vague outline of herself, from which you can tell she was probably around 13.

"Sheldon?"

"Yes Penny?"

He stood off to the right near the side of her bed his arms at his side, he seemed a bit uncomfortable, did he know what he she was thinking, and was this connection allowing him to know that this was her room?

"Sheldon, does this connection that we have let you know what I'm thinking?" Penny asked.

"No, not really Penny, I have a somewhat inkling, what a laymen would call a "gut feeling" nothing more clear or concrete. This feeling is telling me that we are somewhere in your past. Am I correct in my assumption Penny?"

As he finished testing this he started walking around the room looking at the shelves, almost reaching his long finger out to touch a little bobble head that aligned her shelf.

"Yes Sheldon, this is my home, my childhood home. I need to find my diary that will tell me what day it is. Penny went to where she knew she kept her diary, but it wasn't there. She instead, found a small stack of letters, the envelopes addressed to her, the handwriting extremely neat, she didn't recognize these letters; she had never seen them before.

She'll most begin to think she was really in her room everything looked the same, but it didn't feel the same. Hanging on her closet door was what looked like a Halloween costume. Sheldon was standing by her night table and noticed something that made him smile from ear to ear, there next to her lamp was the October issue of The Flash.

"Penny, you never told me that you read comic books?"

"That's because, I never read comic books." Penny answered, confused that she saw and held the comic book herself.

"That if you don't read comic books, what is this one doing here?" Sheldon asked.

"Sheldon, I don't know, what I also don't know is why I have a night table with letters I've never seen before, for my diary should be, and what appears to be a CatWoman costume on my closet door."

"Penny, we need to figure out how to get back home. I think the longer we do this the more anomalies were going to find. I still don't know what the exact ramifications are of your interaction with the younger version of me."

Just then three of Penny's friends came bounding in the door, she was so happy to see them, she had spent some really good times with these three girls, and now seeing them again she felt all of 13 again.

"So, when are you going to tell us who you have been writing to everyday in detention?" her friend Mary asked, flinging herself onto Penny's bed.

"Ah you know, just a pen pal I guess"

"Come on, he sends you comic books and you made him that friendship bracelet in art class, it took you what? Like three classes to finish it Penny, you like this guy, when you came to class the other day you were so happy and sad because he had called you and told you his arm was broken"

"Yeah, you seem all mysterious about this guy Pen…what's up, didn't you say he was a genius or something?" her red-headed friend Carol asked.

Penny's head snapped up and looked at Sheldon, he looked more nervous than she had ever seen him, and that is saying a lot this is Sheldon were talking about. Penny stood there taking it all in. There was a strange feeling of déjà vu. She doesn't remember having this conversation with them. This day had been different, but yet these were her friends. She moved towards the night table to pull out the letters, but Sheldon moved to stop her.

"Penny, do not take another step forward, you cannot continue to meddle. It is obvious, that we are no longer in our universe."

She knew she could not start talking to someone that wasn't there; her friends were paranoid as it was with her not answering questions about this mysterious guy, who sounds very familiar to Penny.

"Let's get ready girls, we have a Halloween party to go to" Alexey broke the awkward tension in the air. "I am ready to party! Fall festival here we come!"

Before Penny could move forward to retrieve the letters or even talk to Sheldon as to why she couldn't just have a peek, they were stripping her down and helping her into her CatWoman costume. Sheldon, the Southern Gentleman that he is, turned away and stared out the window of the attic bedroom. I am sure he would have no problem peeking with at a full grown Penny, but this was a very young Penny, and he behaved like a total gentleman.

"So…what do you think? How do I look? _Meow!"_ Penny shook her hand like a paw, Sheldon turned and smiled. "Not 100% accurate, but it will pass, certainly better than that sham costume you wore a few years ago, you were not fooling anyone Penelope."

"It sure didn't keep you from gawking at me when I bent over to pick a beer out of the cooler!" she whispered.

"What did you say girl, beer what?" Alexey asked. If you opened a beer in the forest that girl would know where!

"Let's get going." I said, the sooner she left this house, the better; she was feeling all sorts of creepy.

"Wait! Let's take your picture! For your wall" Mary said, pulling the Polaroid off of Penny's shelf.

"Oh yeah, my picture wall…wait though, let me grab something" Penny bounded over to the chair by the window and picked up her favorite stuffed animal, it was a stuffed Hello Kitty plush.

Sheldon smiled, some things never change.

Sheldon POV

Once at the fair things were going great that is until Penny decided that she was CatWoman and jumped onto some guys that were dunking some poor kid a little too far into the Apple Bobbing tank. She wrapped her fake whip around a massive figure of a boy; he must have been 6' 7. He even towered over Sheldon. As he moved around to try and shake off his attacker, Sheldon saw who it was.

It was Kurt.

Penny knocked him to the ground and was getting in some good kicks and punches when Sheldon spoke.

"Penny, get off of him, before he hurts you, its Kurt, don't you see?"

"Huh?" Penny asked momentarily relinquishing the attack, this proved costly as he pulled a foot out from under her and began to drag her away.

"So kitty wants to play rough huh?" Kurt shouted.

"Sheldon, help me!" Penny screamed.

"Who's Sheldon? Nobody is going to help you!"

He dragged her up to her feet and immediately began his onslaught. Sheldon was sick to his stomach; he would have to do something, anything.

He noticed that the kid that had been getting his head dunked was dressed as Green Lantern and that he had a hearing aide. Sheldon knew that the water coming into contact with the hearing aide might have caused some disruption in the signal, maybe some static that he could use to communicate with him. If he did not hurry, Penny could be really hurt, this was not current day  
Penny, this was little sweet and innocent Penny.

"Can you hear me boy?" Sheldon spoke into the ear of Green Lantern.

The boy shook his head a little, almost as though he thought he did but could have been mistaken; he adjusted the settings and then waited.

"I am Sheldor of the Guardians of Oa" Sheldon tried communicating to him in a language he would understand.

"I can hear you Sheldor, how can I assist, have I been called to wear the ring?" the mini Lantern asked.

Sheldon felt a pang of regret, he knows if this would have happened to him as a child, he would have responded the same, damn he would probably respond the same now, and then seek a CAT scan.

"We have been observing you and you have your first mission, as a junior Lantern" Sheldon continued.

"_In brightest day, in blackest night,_ _No evil shall escape my sight…" the mini lantern responded. _

"Go over to the bleachers, CatWoman is in trouble, but you must first take an adult human with you, as your power is still not strong enough and you have no power ring yet young lantern" Sheldon chose his words very carefully, he could not send this poor boy into danger alone.

"And hurry lantern, she saved you and now she requires your assistance" Sheldon said just as the mini lantern ran off to find a few adults that can help. Sheldon ran back to where Penny was he found her still trying to fend off Kurt's advances, more like his groping of her.

"Get your hands off me your sick, piece of shit!" Penny was yelling, kicking and screaming as he worked at ripping off her costume.

"Shut up you skank! All you girls want me; I am the captain of the football team and the wrestling team. I see you looking at me, you lonely freshman" He taunted her. Penny hauled back and clocked him one in the jaw, just as help arrived.

They got to Kurt just as he was pulling back to punch Penny, Sheldon instinctively jumped in front of him, even though there would be nothing he could do.

Penny noticed and smiled a little, her hero.

"Get off me!" Kurt yelled as it took three teachers to get him off of her. Penny was disheveled and tears were stinging her eyes. It could have been a lot worse for her younger self, had she been here. It was Penny's street smarts and prowess that kept her safe, although Sheldon felt that it might not have been the first time Penny had had to fight off an angry Kurt.

"Are you okay?" mini Lantern asked Penny.

"Yes sweetie, I'm okay, thank you for getting help" she answered, her voice full of gratitude to the little guy. He adjusted his glasses a bit, and nodded.

She saw Sheldon walk over and speak into the ear of the boy, "You have done well young lantern, always remember that we are watching and could call upon you again, you have made the Guardians of Oa proud."

The mini lantern beamed with pride and simply stood prouder as he scampered off before Penny could say anything else. She could hear him in the distance

"…_.Let those who worship evil's might,_ _Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"_

"Ms. Summers….you are in big trouble, you need to come with me" a man Penny recognized as the Vice Principal called her.

"Oh boy!" was all Penny could say…

_They were no longer in Nebraska…_


	5. Chapter 5 Seven Minutes In Hell

Chapter 4 _Seven Minutes in Hell _

He blinked his eyes repeatedly; the darkness that surrounded him was all encompassing. He sent his thoughts out to see if he felt Penny.

"Penny?" he called out. There was no answer. He felt around to see where he was. There were clothes hanging around him and he soon realized that he was in a closet. How he could feel the clothes was starting to make sense. He and Penny had somehow switched places and now he was the one that was moving through physical space.

"Good Lord, what has that woman done?" he mumbled under his breath.

"You know I don't think it was me that did anything Moonpie." Her voice sounded like silk in his ears and he shuttered just a bit at her words as they filled his head. It was unnerving to hear a disembodied sound, so close, so intimate to him.

"Where are you Penny?"

She appeared almost before he was done asking, her figure had her shape but was almost opaque, she smiled at him, that mischievous smile that had beguiled him so long ago. His heart tightened a bit. This was something she must never know, he could not fit into her world, and he doubted very much she would desire to know his true feelings for her. He remembered her tenderness to his younger self. He knew immediately that in her interfering she had changed the time line. There was now an alternate time line in which he was saved further harm by his "brother", how this would affect them was still unknown but if this anomaly was any indication of what was to come they were in for quite a surprise.

"Where are we?" he asked her.

"How am I supposed to know Sheldon?"

"Go beyond this door and find out woman!" his voice was higher than he hoped, the darkness was beginning to unnerve him again, even with her presence it was still too much for him.

"Oh right, let me ghost on over, tee hee" she giggled as she disappeared through the door.

"_Okay we should let the poor loser out. He has been in hell long enough!" _someone spoke from the other side of the door.

The music started up again and the door cracked open. Sheldon stepped out his eyes stung from the bright light that filtered in from the outside room. _"Come on Woloweird, get out of there" _

"Good God" Sheldon/Woloweird exclaimed.

He could hear the sniggering and laughing in his ear, it was Penny; she was really enjoying this. Sheldon looked down and found that he was wearing the most uncomfortable pair of tight bell bottom jeans he had ever seen. His hair was long as he could feel it feather on the back of his neck. He exited the closet into what looked like a wooden room. The walls were made from faux wood panels and there were multiple lava lamps on either end table. The carpet beneath his feet was shag, in the most repulsive green color.

"Come on Woloweird, how was it?"

"Excuse me?" Sheldon/Wolowitz answered.

"How did it feel to be seven minutes in heaven with yourself?" and with that the raucous of laughter filled the room.

Sheldon/Wolowitz looked around and he found that he was in what looked like a basement in a party. There were a few girls and some boys, most of who looked to be on some sort of sports team from what he could make out of their attire. Their laughter continued and so did that of the girls. They continued to mock him and he realized that this was something that he had experienced before and he did not like the way he felt then and he didn't like the way he was feeling now, but the difference was that he was not a thirteen year old boy anymore he was a man, a man on his way to achieving his life's work, a man confident and strong.

He looked around the room and saw Penny's face; she was appalled at how their friend was being treated. He could see that even in this almost transparent form her eyes welled up in tears and it was all he needed. He filled his chest with a large breath and let them have it.

"I would imagine that any time alone with myself would be better than spending any time with any of you! Now if you are done here I would appreciate it very much if you could get the hell out of my house!"

"Come on buddy we were just having a laugh" the bigger of the boys seated on the futon by the far wall answered.

"I am well aware of what you were having at my expense and I will have no more of it."

"Don't be a loser Wolowitz, isn't this what you wanted to be a part of the crowd, isn't this why you had this party for us? And thank you for not inviting any of your loser friends, that foreign kid is all types of weird!"

That was it, the last straw; Sheldon/Wolowitz walked over to the guy and stood toe to toe and in his most calm and serious voice he said

"Listen to me very carefully, that guy you are saying is weird, happens to be my friend, my only friend and to be honest I do not know what came over me to think that I needed anyone but him to be my friend, I certainly do not need any of you, that is unless I need my groceries checked out of my oil changed." As he said this a smirk of satisfaction came over his face, he knew this touched a nerve. Most jocks and cheerleaders all ended up the same, they peak in high school then find themselves working menial jobs and resenting those that went on to bigger and better things.

He knew his friend Howard would go on to bigger and better things; right now he manned his time experiment along with Raj. Sheldon would not have trusted this to just anyone for as much as he got on Howard about not having a PhD, he knew that Howard was the most experienced and capable engineer he knew and he trusted his life to him, his life and Penny's which as time passed he realized was beginning to mean more to him than he could imagine. Just the look in her eye gave him the strength to face Howard's bullies, to do what he could not have done for himself.

"So you think you are a tough guy huh?" said the tough guy. Shoving Sheldon/Howard, Sheldon/Howard could smell the liquor on his breath; it reminded him of the one that so often would waif from his father's mouth when he came home from work on a Saturday afternoon.

"It will take more than a shove to scare me" Sheldon/Howard answered, standing firm in his defiance. The other boy was stronger, but Sheldon towered over him in sheer fierceness. He was anything but afraid he was strong; he was being strong for Howard, for Penny who stood with her hand covering her mouth, almost willing him on with her eyes. He could not remember any time when Penny had been this silent; the thought almost pulled him from his task. However he marched on he walked over to the door and held it open.

"Now, if you do not mind, I have a lot of better things to do then to put up with the lot of you. You will leave now and you will never again do this to me or anyone else that is different than you. This is something that I will make sure of if it is the last thing I do, because one day someone like me will be your boss and you might want to be a bit nicer to me. Now, GET OUT!"

With those last words, they scurried to their feet, stepping over themselves to make their exit; they left silently, some of them, mostly the girls, apologizing under their breaths. One of them stopped and looked at Sheldon/Howard; she grabbed his face and planted a long, deep kiss on his lips.

Sheldon/Howard stood stock there, his hands stiff at his sides, his expression almost as surprised as Penny's was.

"Marcy, hurry up!" yelled her friend from the top of the stairs.

"Call me later Howard" Marcy said as she put another kiss on his cheek, waving back at him as she scampered up the steps.

'Well, well Mr. Casanova' Penny said, her voice sounded like music to him. Although, her expression was not as happy as her voice let on.

"Stop it Penny, you know that was not enjoyable for me. This is Howard's body if you did not notice."

"Yes I did notice Moonpie. I also notice what you did there for Howard and I am very proud of you"

"Why me Penny, I should say the same to you, you saved me from my bullies"

"And you saved me from mine" She said as she got closer to him, it was so strange to see her there in front of him so close, but to have her voice so near him, in him.

"It was the right thing to do P-p-penny" he stuttered a bit as he answered, his mouth was starting to get dry, her closeness again unnerved him, he felt his legs weaken a bit at her gaze.

"You know Sheldon; I have been meaning to talk to you"

"HOWARD" they heard Howard's mother calling out to him.

"Yes Ms…Mother" Sheldon/Howard called out.

"THE PHONE IT'S FOR YOU"

"WHO IS IT MOTHER" Sheldon found himself imitating the sound of Howard's voice a little too closely than he cared to admit. Penny smiled at his almost perfect pitch imitation.

"IT'S SOMEONE NAMED _SHELDON COOPER!"_

"W-whaaat?" Penny asked but before she heard the answer they were no longer in the basement of Howard's home.


End file.
